10 Facts about North Cyprus Marine Turtles

One of the things that North Cyprus is famous for is its nesting beach – Alagadi, where endangered marine turtle species: the Loggerheads (caretta caretta) and Green turtles lay their eggs. Eco tourism and conservation has been incredibly important in helping to protect the turtles and their habitats through groups such as ‘The Turtle Project’, who also provide excursions to the beach so that those interested can actually view the fascinating egg laying and hatching process at specific times of year.

Visiting the Turtle Beach at Alagadi is something that should not be missed during a trip to North Cyprus, and aside from being very cute, the Loggerhead and Green turtles also have some fascinating facts. Did you know that…

Loggerhead Turtles & Green Turtles

1. The name ‘Loggerhead Turtle’ was inspired by the fact they have big heads, and by that I don’t mean that they go around boasting about how many crabs they’ve eaten that day, although their big heads are actually useful for helping with catching their prey. It supports their strong jaws, which allows them to eat hard shelled creatures far easier than other turtles.

3. Loggerhead turtles can move through the water up to 15 miles per hour.

4. Green turtles can weigh up to a whopping 700 pounds, which makes them one of the largest species of sea turtle in the world.

5. It’s common for both female Loggerhead turtles and Green turtles to travel thousands of miles in order to return to the beach where they were born to lay their own eggs.

6. Green turtles enjoy sunbathing, which makes them unusual compared to other sea turtles, who usually only leave the water to nest.

7. Loggerhead turtles create a mental map of their migration route through using the Earth’s magnetic field.

8. Green turtles mate every two to four years by digging a pit in the sand with their flippers and filling it with around 100-200 eggs. After covering this they return to the sea until 2 months has passed.

9. The most dangerous time of a Loggerhead and Green turtles life is when they leave their nest for the sea. Due to being so small and vulnerable they can easily be caught by predators.

10. Loggerhead turtles can live to be over 50, while Green Turtles can live up to over 80 years old. Pretty impressive, huh?

One of the things that North Cyprus is famous for is its nesting beach – Alagadi, where endangered marine turtle species: the Loggerheads (caretta caretta) and Green turtles lay their eggs. Eco tourism and conservation has been incredibly important in helping to protect the turtles and their habitats through...